“He did not deserve the death sentence,” said Allen’s mother, Stephanie Allen. “Patrick Tuter was not judge and jury, and that’s what he made himself out to be.”

Allen’s father, Randy Allen, said he is glad the department finally acted on the matter because he doesn’t want any other families to feel what he, his wife and his son’s 4-year-old daughter feel every day.

“Maybe the streets are safer now,” he said.

The Allens have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tuter, seeking damages in their son’s death.

The lawsuit says that Michael Allen did not have a weapon and did not pose a threat to officers. The lawsuit also says that Tuter’s use of force was excessive.

“That’s what tears me up — that they weren’t only just excessive, it was excessive on top of excessive,” Randy Allen said.

‘Justified’The Allens said their son should not have run from police but also know that nothing can bring him back.

Tuter’s attorney said his client does not agree with the department’s decision to fire him and will appeal.

“The indefinite suspension was based upon alleged violations of the Garland Police Department’s internal, administrative policies,” the attorney said in a statement. “However, Officer Tuter’s actions were justified under this state’s penal code, and the indefinite suspension will be appealed under state civil service law.”

Upcoming Events

Presenters include: • Four women from Empower • Niki Adams of the English Collective of Prostitutes Hosted by the US PROStitutes Collective Empower Foundation is a sex workers’ collective in Thailand which for 30 years has been promoting rights and opportunities for sex workers, especially access to education, health and legal advocacy. Over the years 50,000 sex workers have passed through their doors including migrant women from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam. The English Collective of Prostitutes is a UK based group, founded in 1975, which helps sex workers defend themselves … Continued

We’ve all seen the video! How is it that BART police officer Joseph Mateu has not already been charged with the murder of Sahleem Tindle, after he shot the 28 year old in the back three times? OPD is responsible for the investigation of this murder, since it happened outside of BART property, across from West Oakland BART. Join us to demand that OPD do their job and charge Mateu for murder. Arrest him now! Sahleem Tindle was murdered by BART Police Officer Joseph Mateu on January 3, 2018. He … Continued

Potluck reception and discussion with Water and Land Protector Vanessa Dundon aka SiouxZ Desbah, and Water Protector Legal Collective, co-sponsored by AIM-West, Intertribal Friendship House, National Lawyers Guild- SF Bay Area Chapter, and Oakland Law Collaborative. SiouxZ, Diné / Navajo, is a lead plaintiff in a civil rights class action lawsuit challenging the use of fire hoses, explosive grenades, and other violence against the indigenous-led #NoDAPL movement at Standing Rock. A mother of 4, she is also the founder of Missing Flowers: Missing Murdered Indigenous Women and Men; an organizer of Honor … Continued

Angela Davis says, “Sunaina Maira locates contemporary BDS activism and the considerable efforts to expand the academic boycott of Israel …to movements for racial, gender and economic equality…In deftly demonstrating that Palestinian solidarity belongs at the center of all our social justice concerns, “Boycott!” both exemplifies the challenge and urges us to fearlessly rise up to it.” KPFA event. 64421

GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE FOR OAKLAND MAYOR Saied Karamooz announces his candidacy as Oakland’s mayor in 2018 Saied Karamooz will share his motivation, vision, and plans as Oakland’s next mayor. Saied believes that everyone is entitled to safe streets, quality education, decent jobs, and dignified homes. “With the abundance of resources, innovation, and energy in Oakland, there is no reason why our city continues to be plagued by high crime levels, low graduation rates, high unemployment, and inadequate housing,” said Mr. Karamooz. Press conference will be held on the steps of … Continued

RSVP here INVISIBLE NO MORE: A SYMPOSIUM ON RESISTING POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK WOMEN AND WOMEN OF COLOR Experiences of women of color – often invisible in broader debates and movements around police violence, criminalization, and gender-based violence – must fuel our research & resistance. Co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues 64430

El Cerrito Shows Up#Enough #ICEoutofCAPlease join us today & every Wednesday 6 – 7 PMWest entrance El Cerrito Plaza nr Daiso, San Pablo Ave & Carlson.ECSU rallies weekly to speak out in favor of equality and justice. #NoHatehttps://t.co/Wotbz2eRWM pic.twitter.com/E88ORoKhhq— IndivisibleELCERRITO (@ECindivisible) March 14, 2018 Please join us from 6 to 7 PM at the west entrance to El Cerrito Plaza, intersection of San Pablo Ave & Carlson Ave. We’ll meet on the side nearest to Daiso. The ECSU goals are to create a significant community presence to speak out in … Continued

Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state, police militarization and ICE, and to advocate for surveillance regulation around the Bay. We fight against “pre-crime” and “thought-crime,” spy drones, facial recognition, police body cameras and requirements for “backdoors” to cellphones, to list just a few invasions of our privacy by all levels of Government. We draft and push for privacy legislation for City Councils, at the County level, and in Sacramento. We advocate in op-eds and in the streets. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no … Continued

This free SURJ workshop will dive into the history of voter suppression and mass incarceration from slavery, through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, into the present day of New Jim Crow, and discuss details around – and signature-gathering for The Voting Restoration and Democracy Act of 2018, a ballot initiative that will restore the right to vote to more than 162,000 incarcerated folks and those on parole in California, a disenfranchised group that is disproportionately Black, Brown, and poor. This ballot initiative is led by Initiate Justice. Free … Continued

Recent Posts

Licensing and Copyright Notice: Content on this site is user generated. It is the responsibility of the posting party to determine the licensing or copyright status of the material posted. Unless otherwise noted, materials posted on this site are licensed under the Creative Commons License.